Work by Texas-based photographer Andy Sharp

A Gift of Art in Bartlett, Texas

“People just give me stuff,” explained lifelong Bartlett folk artist Lana Sue Hill, when asked about where she gets materials for her special creations. I met Hill last year while covering the Bartlett Friendship Days Festival, but didn’t have time to follow up. After this year’s festival, however, we connected again. Hill and I are pretty much the same age, both of us Medicare-eligible babies. So we hit it off pretty well. Hill’s front yard is hard to miss. It stopped me in my tracks. During my Atlanta years, I had the pleasure of photographing Reverend Howard Finster, a north Georgia folk artist from Summerville, at his Paradise Garden. Google that for more information. Rev. Finster’s fame grew when the group REM chose one of his works for an album cover. From there, things took off. While different in feel and texture, Ms. Hill’s work resonates in its own way. She event crafts banjos and guitars, using cigar boxes for bodies and frets made of windshield wiper blades. And I like her little dog, shown in the opening photo. That rascal’s name is Cindy Walker Cash Daughter Patsy Cline, a long handle that pays tribute to some of her favorite musical artists. Some of these photos accompanied a recent column I did on Hill for my friends at the Williamson County Sun. You’ll find more about her on her Facebook page. Check her out!